The eight essentials of web appeal

Web appeal…We all know it when we find it. It’s that website which looks great, is ultra-easy to use and which we can’t help revisiting. It’s a website which makes it tempting to buy into or buy from a company. A website that works like this doesn’t happen by accident. Sadly, it doesn’t often happen by intention either.

A website that effectively draws people in and encourages them to buy into your business? It’s one of the biggest business assets you can have. So why do lots of companies get their web appeal so wrong? What are the real secrets to a truly creative website, one that stays attractive and interesting to web visitors? We’ve worked with lots of companies to help boost their web appeal, as with Sporting Agent, pictured here.

These are our eight essentials of web appeal:

Content

Web appeal is all about building a perfect match between content and design to create a strong message about the value of your product or service. Content is very valuable for building relationships and boosting web traffic. The secret is to create the right balance between content and design. Jargon and overly technical content do not add up to web appeal, which is why we don’t build websites with them in it.

Design

Great web design is not about having a highly complex site with lots of bells and whistles. It is about making something sophisticated (the art of encouraging people to visit and stay on your site) feel effortless. Simpler is usually better because it looks less cluttered and ensures that your message is clear.

Route map

Clear directions are a big part of web appeal. Never overlook navigation – the route people will use to journey through your website. Is it easy for them to move around the site? Do all the different aspects connect together to create a route that makes sense?

Typography

This is an all too overlooked aspect of design. Yet, it’s how your web visitors connect with your message. Your choice of typography will affect how well your visitors take in your message. Too small and too busy and they may not bother to read what you have to say. Too large and too bold and your web visitor may feel that you are shouting at them. Your choice of typography needs to fit your format, your audience and your brand.

Coding

“What does coding have to do with web appeal?”, we hear you ask. Well, coding is what shapes and styles your website, so it matters a great deal. As designers for websites for business, we know it’s not the most interesting part to our clients. But the right coding lies squarely behind the success of your site.

Flexibility

Change is the whole point of a website. Yet so many business websites stay fixed in design and content from the first day they were launched. A flexible website is an appealing one. We always build our websites with an update centre so clients can keep their online presence fresh and up to date with changing customer priorities and interests.

Timeliness

How current is your web presence? There’s not easier way to gauge how well a company is doing with this than by checking their blog or looking for news articles. If you can only find old news, the website is more likely to seem like old hat to visitors. Plus, it’ll be fast losing its place in the search engine rankings.

Connectivity

A website needs to be well connected if it’s ever going to be seen as a great place to visit. That means making sure it’s hooked up to social media and sharing blog links, news articles and details of useful resources.